Automated Database Migration

A migration is much more than simply re-platforming or modernizing an application’s programs. These programs operate on data that also must be migrated to the new platform in order to obtain the maximum cost savings. The database and file structures as well as the data itself must be converted to an appropriate structure and form on the target platform and this can often be as complex as the actual program migration.

Database Migration

We have developed an automated tool for moving DB2 databases to SQL Server running on the Windows server. The DB2 definitions of tables, views, indexes, triggers, stored procedures, etc. are converted to equivalent SQL Server, Oracle or DB2 LUW DDL definitions. Individual column definitions are converted to the appropriate SQL data type. Based on the constraints in the DB2 database, dependency and build order files are built to insure that the SQL database will be populated in the proper order. This automated conversion requires a minimum of manual intervention thus providing significant savings over manual database conversion.

Database and File Migration

Once the SQL database has been migrated it is necessary to populate it and any VSAM and/or QSAM files. We have also designed tools to handle this process. Data migration can be a complicated and expensive proposition since it involves issues of encoding and internal data representation on different platforms and usually multi-formatted records and columns. Our solution is to automatically generate programs that will read each table or file on the mainframe, extract the data into a platform neutral format and then write it to the corresponding table or file on the Windows platform in the appropriate encoding and format. Once again our automated tools help minimize the cost of data migration by reducing the manual effort required.

Let Us Show You

While technology is great, at the end of the day our clients care about meeting their goals. The surest way to understand how we can do this is to see our technology in action. If you would like to see a demonstration and arrange to see a sample of your own database schema modernized by our technology, contact us and we will be happy to accommodate you.